TTP confirm death of Hakimullah Mehsud Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) confirmed on Friday.
That Hakimullah Mehsud, had been killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan, senior TTP and intelligence sources told Reuters. “Hakimullah Mehsud’s funeral is scheduled for 3 p.m. (Saturday) in Miranshah,” an intelligence source said. Intelligence officials said the Pakistani Taliban supremo was leaving a meeting at a mosque in Dande Darpakhel area of North Waziristan when the drone targeted the vehicle he was travelling in.
Pakistani Taliban militants said funerals for the TTP chief and other militants killed in the drone strike were held on Saturday in various parts of North Waziristan. Five militants, including Abdullah Bahar Mehsud and Tariq Mehsud, both key commanders and close aides of the TTP chief, were also killed with two others injured in the drone strike, multiple sources confirmed. Some of the sources said that a paternal uncle of the proscribed organisation’s chief was among those killed in the drone strike.
Taliban sources told Dawn.com that Hakimullah was shifted to a hospital in the wake of the drone attack but succumbed to his injuries on the way. Locals said the drones had been carrying out low flights in various parts of North Waziristan since Friday morning. The area of Dande Darpakhel is located five kilometres (three miles) north of Miramshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, and is said to be a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.
Friday’s strike came nearly a day after three insurgents were killed in another drone attack that also targeted a militant compound near Miramshah. The US unmanned plane was still flying in the area after the attack. -Brecorder